CEO Message

Pursuing sustainable growth toward a prosperous future

We have long supplied ultra-precise, high-accuracy components for a wide range of products. These include home appliances, ICT devices, automobiles, aircraft, and medical equipment—all essential to daily life and industry.

Most of these components are the invisible workhorses, but from the moment you wake up to the time you go to bed, you are always in constant contact with something we made. As the global economy has advanced, final products have become more sophisticated and higher-quality. We have steadily grown by delivering high-performance parts aligned with the cutting-edge technologies of each era. Beginning with our founding business of bearings, we take pride in the fact that our ultra-precise components are essential to supporting everyday life and powering the world, helping bring about a more prosperous society.

Today, cutting-edge technologies that once seemed like science fiction are becoming reality, such as full-scale autonomous driving, humanoid robot development, and the use of generative AI. In San Francisco, autonomous taxis are already in commercial use. Many of these autonomous vehicles are equipped with our products. Humanoid robots are expected to be introduced gradually from 2025, with about 1.5 million in use worldwide by 2030. Naturally, high-performance humanoids required high-performance components. Especially in the hands, compact force sensors and bearings are essential. If each digit of the hand contains three joints that each contain a small reduction gear, and each gear requires two extremely small bearings, that adds up to 30 bearings for each hand, and 60 bearings for each robot. We expect the market for related products, including bearings, motors, and sensors, to grow to 3 trillion yen by 2030. The reach of our products is expanding as applications such as drones for delivery purposes, and lighting devices used for landing guidance and other purposes continue to evolve.

The realization of these futuristic technologies, along with social challenges like declining birthrates, aging populations, medical issues, and energy concerns, is creating broad demand for electrification, automation, AI, high-speed communication, and sensing technologies. I believe the seeds of the technologies that meet these needs can be categorized into four areas: high voltage, high current, high frequency, and high speed—"Four Highs." The Company has defined its eight core businesses, the "Eight Spears," as those offering hard-to-replace products in niche segments of large markets, where we can leverage our strengths in ultra-precision processing and mass production. We are confident that our Eight Spears form a unique business portfolio capable of directly addressing the technical challenges of these four areas. Another key feature of the Eight Spears is that they generate synergy, what we call integration, between product groups. For example, building a high-performance motor to power next-generation robots requires the best bearings, semiconductors, and other components. Our ability to supply all the necessary parts in-house and optimize through vertical integration is another strength.

Guided by our corporate philosophy, "To contribute to realization of a sustainable, eco-friendly and prosperous society by providing better products, at a faster speed, in larger numbers, at a lower cost and by smarter means," we believe that sustainability is the essence of management, and we are committed to ongoing growth and sustainability. To remain an "indispensable company by driving the world forward," and to continue increasing long-term shareholder value, I believe what is essential is not extreme concentration on one product line, but balanced risk management through diversification into products that are vital to shaping the future. By operating in a wide range of business fields, we can offset downturns in one area with strength in another. Even after overcoming the global financial crisis in 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic, risks such as U.S. reciprocal tariffs and global conflicts remain. Yet, our strategy centered on the Eight Spears has proven that the Company can achieve both stable growth and the ultimate form of risk management.

As part of our strategy for sustainable growth, we have expanded to 1.5 trillion yen in net sales and approximately 100 billion yen in operating income through a balanced approach of organic growth and M&A. Looking toward our 100th anniversary and beyond, we are entering a new stage. We aim to strengthen not only our scale but our profitability by developing solutions for key social issues and driving high-value-added innovation through the integration of our products, technologies, businesses, and the people that drive them. In 2025, we are redefining and reviewing our material issues (materiality) as a foundational strategy to support sustainable growth and reduce capital costs over the long term.

Initiatives toward high margins

Demand for our ultra-precise components is growing rapidly in response to the increasing need for electrification, energy efficiency, and miniaturization. We are pursuing a global niche top strategy, with about half of our current sales coming from products that hold the top global market share. For example, in access products, door locks and latches that were traditionally mechanical are now shifting toward electrification, increasing expectations for integrated solution that only the Company, with its offerings in bearings, motors, and sensors, can provide. We plan to continue launching a steady stream of new high-value-added products, such as a wing handle for BMW, which integrates a handle, motor, and sensor.

Even as profitability declines in sub-core businesses such as smartphone backlights (now phased out), camera actuators for smartphones, and mechanical components of game devices, our core businesses continue to grow robustly.

In the fiscal year ended March 2025, external conditions were far from favorable, with US-China trade tensions, geopolitical risks, and volatile exchange rates affecting industries like automotive and semiconductors. Nonetheless, our core businesses, including precision technologies (bearings), motors, and access solutions achieved record-high operating income (on an actual basis excluding special factors), demonstrating their strong momentum. Sub-core businesses now represent a small portion of our operations, and we are steadily building a foundation to generate 100 billion yen in profit from core businesses alone. I have personally taken the lead through the "Chairman's Office ICU" to accelerate restructuring and resolution in our sub-core businesses for the most critical issues we face. Problems related to game-device mechanical components and camera actuators have been addressed. For camera actuators, rare earth procurement issues stemming from U.S. reciprocal tariffs are also moving toward resolution. We recognize that sub-core businesses carry the risk of being replaced by newer technologies over time. As long as they remain profitable, we position them as sources to fund growth investments. We will continue to closely monitor the profitability of these areas, and we hope our stakeholders understand the ongoing structural shift toward greater earnings contributions in sub-core businesses.

The significance of our business portfolio

Among the Eight Spears of our core businesses, we have identified bearings, semiconductors, motors, and access products as reliable spears, each expected to generate over 20 billion yen in operating income in the near future. However, this does not mean the other spears are unnecessary.

Advancements in autonomous driving, humanoid robots, drones, and the anticipated advancement of medical care in remote areas will require sensors, connectors and switches, power supplies, and wireless communication software that meet the Four Highs. At the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, that has been ongoing since April 2025, we are showcasing a next-generation bed sensor that enables the "Future of Sleep" using high-precision sensors, as part of Pasona Group's PASONA NATUREVERSE exhibit. Over 10,000 visitors experience it each day, and we plan to launch it to market within the year. This product was only made possible thanks to our sensor and wireless software technologies. As technology advances and needs become more complex, we are committed to technological development in order to deliver more examples that demonstrate the significance of our Eight Spears strategy. By unlocking the full potential of our Eight Spears, we aim to become an indispensable integration precision component manufacturer that drives the world, striving beyond our long-term goals of 2.5 trillion yen in net sales and 250 billion yen in operating income in the fiscal year ending March 2029.

Strengthening our global production network to pursue both profitability and sustainability

We view not only business diversification but also production site diversification as a key management strategy. By expanding our global production network, we are achieving optimal production in the most suitable locations to meet customer needs. For example, in our aircraft business, we are leveraging production not only in Europe and the U.S., but also in Thailand and our second plant in India, which began operations in February 2025, to balance cost competitiveness and high quality. This has resulted in order growth that exceeds the overall market expansion.

By expanding our global production network and establishing multiple sites for each business, we are also achieving effective risk management to fulfill our supply responsibilities as a manufacturer. Since the 1970s, MinebeaMitsumi has been an early adopter of overseas expansion of component manufacturing. We have built strong relationships with governments in key regions such as Thailand and Cambodia, and in times of crisis, I personally take the lead in engaging with those governments.

In the fiscal year ending March 2026, our second plant in Pursat, Cambodia, is scheduled to partially begin operations, further strengthening our supply system for growing fields in precision mechanical components (PMC). We are currently advancing labor-saving measures under our "automation projects," unifying improvement methods and IT tools to establish a global standard, and leveraging AI and DX to drive productivity improvements. At the Pursat plant, we will actively apply automation and vertically integrated manufacturing systems, bringing together best practices from across the Group. This facility will serve as a key pillar in our effort to generate 60 billion yen in operating income in Precision Technologies (PT) business.

Furthermore, in June 2024, we amended our Articles of Incorporation at the MinebeaMitsumi Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders to include power generation, reaffirming our commitment to promoting renewable energy as part of our social responsibility. We are currently introducing renewable energy across major sites in Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Japan. In Cambodia, we have launched a Company-led solar power project with the goal of eventually supplying 100% of the plant's electricity through renewable energy, supporting our broader goal of achieving carbon neutrality, contributing to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as to the local power supply.

Sales system reform

In the area of sales as well, we aim to build on our global customer relationships to help clients recognize the value of our products and services, and to secure more high-margin business. In addition, we believe it is essential to accelerate "content growth" by increasing the number of our products adopted by customers through integration activities, which leverage our uniquely broad product lineup. To achieve this, we are currently reforming our sales system with the support of external consultants. Traditionally, our sales operations prioritized revenue growth and market share above all. It is also true that our approach was more akin to the old-fashioned, on-the-ground sales style of the Showa era. Now, we are developing our own sales support system and utilizing AI in advancing data-driven strategy planning and execution to uncover untapped potential and business expansion opportunities, thereby promoting more efficient sales activities. Beyond sales figures, we are also reforming our incentive system and educational initiatives, introducing evaluation criteria such as product operating margin and cross-departmental information sharing, while promoting the sharing of best practices among top talent. Through these efforts, we aim to meet customer needs as well as to enhance our value proposition through a push strategy and deliver new products in close collaboration with development teams.

Higher margins in M&A

As noted in our Integrated Report 2024 and other communications, we have also been reassessing our strategy for M&As, one of our key management strategies that has served as a driving force for the Company's growth. This entails focusing on profitability while aligning with our established principles: 1. M&A's that can strengthen our existing businesses and/or provide integration, 2. M&A's that are priced appropriately. We have successfully integrated business by acquiring appropriately priced underperforming companies with the potential for generating synergies with the Eight Spears of our core businesses and turning those enterprises around financially with a focus on financial discipline. This approach of prioritizing scale expansion has sometimes led to temporary downturns in profitability as we work toward business integration. Going forward, alongside structural reforms in these businesses, we intend to make profitability the top priority in our M&A activities as well.

Recently, hostile takeover attempts have been on the rise, signaling a shift in the M&A landscape in Japan. In response, we place strong emphasis on Post-Merger Integration (PMI). After all, companies are built by people. What matters is not who acquires whom, but a spirit of mutual respect and equality. The key to early synergy and long-term M&A success lies in how well we prepare the mindset from day one of integration, getting to know one another, growing together toward our 100th anniversary, and working toward shared goals.

Regarding the ball screw and ball way manufacturing and sales business operated by Tsubaki Nakashima, although the company had experienced a quality misconduct issue, we have confirmed that its quality assurance system has been rebuilt and we plan to acquire the shares on October 3, 2025. Compact, high-precision ball screws and ball ways will be indispensable for humanoids and other applications mentioned earlier, and we believe they will contribute to strengthening our future integration capabilities.

Unleashing the diverse passions of our 100,000 global employees to pursue sustainable growth for the next generation

Our first company credo from the "Five Principles" is that we must be a company where our employees are proud to work. As we have shared before, during the great flood in Thailand in 2011, when water threatened our plant, local employees worked through the night to protect it. Witnessing this firsthand as I led operations on site, I truly realized that a company is supported by its people. Ultimately, people drive the company forward. To reach integration of our diverse businesses and technologies in pursuit of sustainable growth, it is essential to foster integration among our people as well. To carry on the DNA we have built over our 70+ year history, we must create an environment where each of our 100,000 global members can fully demonstrate their abilities.

I am personally leading initiatives to learn not only from our accumulated internal know-how, but also from cross-industry examples like the NITORI, working on both objective and subjective approaches to human resource development.

On the objective side, we focus on maximizing individual capabilities by training core personnel and professionals in manufacturing, technology, and sales who will lead our globally diverse businesses toward sustainable growth. Systematic succession planning is a particularly important management challenge. We are conducting selective training programs for three tiers—Chief of Headquarters candidates, Head of Business Unit candidates, and junior high potential talent—to cultivate our next generation of leaders. I believe it is crucial for leaders to visit the field themselves, observe, analyze, and make decisions about what is lacking and what is needed to solve problems. In the Chairman's Office, the COO & CFO Office, and the Vice President's Office, we are implementing hands-on training programs where current management hosts successors across a span of several weeks or months to experience frontline management firsthand. Under the Samurai Project, we are designing, developing, and running training programs for managers capable of working globally, led by members with deep experience in manufacturing, sales, and engineering, including overseas operations.

Our traditional development approach relied heavily on on-the-job training led by each site and on individual experience. As our business diversified globally, this has led to disparities in management quality across locations. Successful managers share common skills: logical problem-solving based on visualized data, the ability to lead team-driven improvements on the ground, and decision-making with a managerial mindset. To enhance growth and competitiveness, we will institutionalize these skills across the organization and reinforce our foundational strength: hands-on manufacturing, the very source of our competitiveness. At the same time, we will cultivate talent who pursue continuous improvement while also embracing true transformation.

We are also reforming our HR systems to genuinely support each employee's career development, rigorously evaluate both performance and attitude toward work, and build a system in which the Company and employees grow together through a shared sense of self-directed progress.

On the subjective side, we are working to enhance employee motivation and engagement. I have consistently emphasized both inside and outside the Company that setting high goals and cultivating "passion" is essential for growth. However, passively working toward goals imposed by others is not enough to sustain strong motivation. We have begun initiatives, starting with participants in selective training programs, to reflect on their sources of passion and articulate their passion ("My Passion") in their own words. In our employee engagement survey, launched in 2024, the score for "sustainable engagement" currently stands at around 61^*. While not yet high, I am encouraged by how many younger employees resonate with our corporate philosophy and vision.

Looking ahead, we will continue to draw out the unique passions of our 100,000 global employees, each with diverse backgrounds. By uniting their strengths through integration, we aim to become an "indispensable company by driving the world forward," well beyond our 100th anniversary. In doing so, we will strive to deliver the difference and new value that only we can offer, as declared in our corporate slogan.

* Ratio of favorable responses (top two categories) in the five-point scale for the four main companies (MinebeaMitsumi, MITSUMI ELECTRIC, U-Shin, and ABLIC)

Related links

• CFO Message
• Integrated Reports
• Corporate Philosophy
• Medium-term Business Plan
• Financial Results Briefing

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